In The Media Archive

What the potential Beaumont-Advocate Aurora merger could mean for Detroit patients, employees

Picture of merging arrows Beaumont announced it is in merger talks with Advocate Aurora Health, a major healthcare system in other parts of the Midwest says Hank Winchester, reporting for Click on Detroit.

The largest healthcare system in Michigan is Beaumont Health, and one of the top employers in the Midwest is Advocate Aurora Health, one of the ten largest non-profit, integrated health systems in the country.

John Fox, president and CEO of Beaumont Health, said, “We are excited to explore this option with an organization as highly regarded as Advocate Aurora Health known for their track record in health outcomes, population health, and consumer experience. The potential opportunity to leverage the strength and scale of a regional organization while maintaining a local focus and strong presence in Michigan as a leader and major employer is important to us.”

In the segment, Winchester interviews Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation. Udow-Phillips describes how the merger could impact patient care and quality in Detroit.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Why is Michigan’s coronavirus death rate so high? Udow-Phillips explains in MLive

High covid death rate newspaper clippings “By multiple measures, coronavirus COVID-19 has been particularly deadly in Michigan” reports Julie Mack in a recent MLive story. “Michigan’s high covid death rate equates to almost 10 percent of the state’s confirmed cases,” writes Mack. “That’s the highest percentage in the country.”

Mack interviewed Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation, for perspective.

It’s likely the sociodemographic factors that made metro Detroit a U.S. epicenter for coronavirus also are contributing to the high covid death rate, said Marianne Udow-Phillips, head of the Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan.

Outside of nursing homes, “we know where COVID-19 has been most deadly, and that’s been in the African-American population,” for a variety of reasons, Udow-Phillips said. She also said, “I don’t think it’s in any way that our healthcare system wasn’t as prepared as elsewhere.”

“A large percentage of deaths are in congregate living settings such as nursing homes and a large percentage are occurring in African-American populations,” Udow-Phillips said. “That informs us on where we need to take interventions; we need to do more to protect those populations, in particular.”

READ THE FULL MLIVE STORY

Udow-Phillips in MLive: Where we need to take COVID-19 interventions to protect vulnerable populations

Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), spoke with Julie Mack at MLive about where we need to create COVID-19 interventions to protect vulnerable populations.

“By multiple measures, COVID-19 has been particularly deadly in Michigan,” writes Mack in an MLive story that examines the causes. Mack reports that “Michigan’s death count equates to almost 10% of the state’s confirmed cases. That’s the highest percentage in the country.”

Looking at why Michigan has such a high coronavirus death rate is “really quite important, so we can have the best-informed strategy” going forward, Udow-Phillips tells Mack, though she cautions that “there’s a problem with some comparisons between states because some states are not reporting accurately” or in a timely manner.

“A large percentage of deaths are in congregate living settings such as nursing homes and a large percentage are occurring in African-American populations,” Udow-Phillips says. “That informs us on where we need to take interventions; we need to do more to protect those populations, in particular.”

READ THE FULL STORY

Marianne Udow-Phillips in Bridge Magazine on ways to battle COVID-19 in our state’s vulnerable nursing homes

In “Michigan nursing homes linked to 1 in 4 coronavirus deaths. Tally will grow,” a Bridge Magazine story, Marianne Udow-Phillips describes one practice that Michigan could employ to battle COVID-19 in our state’s highly vulnerable nursing homes.

State Rep. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, in Michigan, has argued the state can’t protect nursing home residents with limited information. He has asked both state Attorney General Dana Nessel and federal prosecutors to investigate the state’s nursing home policies.

The disclosure of death counts by nursing homes should be a trigger for further action, Udow-Phillips told Bridge reporters.

She went on to describe nursing home “strike teams” other states have been using since early April. Maryland, for example, has sent teams composed of hospital healthcare workers, National Guard members, and state and local healthcare workers to nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks. The teams assist with testing and provide on-site medical support.

“The state could be deploying these teams to battle with infection control. It’s something the state could be working with the nursing home, to have these traveling teams be available,” she said.

People worry that their loved ones might contract the virus but are unaware of what is happening inside because they are not permitted to visit, said Alison Hirschel, managing attorney, of The Michigan Elder Justice Initiative.

READ THE FULL STORY

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COVID-19 rapid response brief: Best practices for protecting populations in nursing homes, long-term care settings

Udow-Phillips on Marketplace Morning Report: Why patients are putting off health care, even when they need it

Healthcare professionals are in a dilemma. Sick people are putting off medical attention, even if they are suffering from life-threatening conditions. Healthcare providers are working to persuade those who need urgent medical attention to receive the necessary treatment.

Marianne Udow-Phillips is cited in a Marketplace Morning Report segment, “It’s safe to see your doctor, ailing health-care industry tells prospective patients.” The story focuses on what healthcare providers are doing to encourage clients to return for needed treatments.

“But even with reassurances, people across the country are putting off routine care,” says NPR Reporter Erika Beres. “Childhood vaccination rates are down, and emergency departments are seeing about half the volume they’d typically see.”

Marianne Udow-Phillips says people are afraid. “There is a lot of fear that when people go to the hospital they will become exposed to COVID-19, and they may actually end up sicker than they would if they just stayed home,” Udow-Phillips said.

To persuade people to come, hospitals and healthcare organizations have started advertising efforts, to convince people to stop putting off the medical attention they need. The Kentucky Hospital Association launched an advertisement that claims that although the coronavirus has significantly altered our lives, “the health care you need doesn’t have to be delayed.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL SEGMENT

Michigan’s independent doctors are facing new hardships during coronavirus pandemic: Udow-Phillips explains

Stethoscope The novel coronavirus is not only causing massive stress on hospital systems, but it is also threatening the existence of independent practices in Michigan. Ted Roelofs, in his latest story for Bridge Magazine, shares that as cases started to increase, and social distancing rules were implemented in March, private practices saw a dramatic decline in patients and revenue.

With this decline in patients, private practices are facing hardships in determining if they will be able to recover from the loss in business. Some are able to receive aid from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Paycheck Protection Program to continue essential operations and pay staff and bills for the near future. However, without the certainty of when this will all end, there is no indication if there will be more aid available to keep these operations running for longer.

The Center for Health Research and Transformation’s executive director Marianne Udow-Phillips shares that it is very possible to see a decline in medical practices, especially in rural Michigan, which already has a shortage of primary care physicians. She also points out that as more independent physicians become less available, there will be a decline in personalized care. and that smaller practices do not have the same infrastructure to get through a “massive disruption” like this pandemic.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

–Summary by Emmen Ahmed

In MLive, Udow Phillips explores Michigan’s approach to reopening the economy: Slow, steady and safe

CHRT Executive Director Marianne Udow-Phillips discusses the uncertainties surrounding reopening Michigan’s economy in an MLive story.

As Governor Whitmer and a 29-person Economic Recovery Council roll out a plan for restarting Michigan’s economy, the emphasis is on caution and flexibility. In a May 6 article, MLive’s Malachi Barrett explores the public health, regional, and economic factors that go into decision-making about safe business practices in nine different categories of workplaces in Michigan.

In the article, Barrett captures insights from Economic Recovery Council members on striking the balance that protects citizens and allows economic activity to increase. Looking ahead, CHRT Executive Director Marianne Udow-Phillips echoes the concerns of public health experts and the healthcare community. “There’s a lot of worries in the public health community that as things open as people become laxer in social distancing, we will see that spike of illness and deaths again,” Udow-Phillips said.

While health and business experts evaluate the risk of exposure in different workplaces, Barrett notes that policymakers are also considering regional differences in the number of cases reported and the capacity of different healthcare facilities. In combination with that data-based approach, Udow-Phillips notes that “…we’re going to have to open gradually, see what happens with those first openings and then over time things could start again.”

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COVID-19 has transformed health and behavioral health care delivery through telehealth, but does everyone have access?

Drawing of woman on laptop facing male on another laptop

In this 25-minute webinar by Karin Teske, a senior analyst for research and evaluation at the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), viewers will learn about the rapid advance of telehealth in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three experts will join this webinar to discuss their perspectives on how the pandemic has changed the way healthcare is provided through telemedicine and the difficulties in ensuring that everyone has access to these services.

Teske shares telehealth use and uptake data from before the COVID-19 pandemic and offers a glimpse of what’s changed since March 2020. She reviews new policies governing the provision of telehealth for national Medicaid clients and Michigan Medicare and commercial plan clients. She also describes who has been left out of the telemedicine transformation, and what we can do to address that.

The experts also note that there are still problems with telehealth access, notably for elders, people living in rural areas, low-income people, and people without a strong background in technology or health literacy.

Listen to COVID-19 transforms healthcare delivery via telehealth, but does everyone have access?, one in a series of COVID-19 webinars organized by the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Note: The telemedicine landscape has been rapidly evolving. For updates, please reach out to her.

Innovative strategies for protecting low-income communities from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income areas, escalating already-existing health disparities and economic difficulties. As a result, innovative strategies have been developed to aid in protecting these communities from the virus and its effects.

In this 10-minute webinar by Samantha Iovan, a senior analyst for health and human services at the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), viewers will learn about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on low-income communities, including homeless populations residing in aggregate housing facilities.

Iovan shares innovative strategies to protect these populations that have emerged in communities across the country, as well as funding sources that can be used to implement these solutions in other low-income communities.

Listen to The impact of COVID-19 on homeless and impoverished populations, one in a series of COVID-19 webinars organized by the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The webinar emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts to address these problems and offer assistance to those who need it most in these historic times. Together, we can lessen the pandemic’s harmful effects on vulnerable people and make sure that everyone has access to the services, supplies, and assistance they need. Ongoing dissemination of information is critical to the health and well-being of our nation.

Udow-Phillips in Michigan hospitals are needed now more than ever. Why are they laying off workers?

For hospitals and health systems in Michigan and the U.S., outpatient and elective procedures are the foundation of sustainable business. The March 10 executive order putting a hold on “non-essential procedures” in Michigan has had a profound effect on the viability of large and small health providers. MLive’s Malachi Barrett spoke with CHRT Executive Director Marianne Udow-Philips about the conditions that led up to the precipitous drop in hospital revenues, and the perils that may lie ahead for health facilities and systems.

While the executive order was aimed at protecting tenuous supplies of personal protective equipment as hospitals prepared for a wave of COVID-19 patients, it unavoidably halted the “non-emergency” procedures that provided a major income stream for hospitals. In the MLive article. the Michigan Health and Hospital Association estimates that without non-emergency and elective procedures Michigan hospitals are losing $300 million a week while simultaneously spending $100 million on COVID-related equipment, staff, and treatments.

This widening gap between revenue and expenses is forcing layoffs of healthcare workers throughout Michigan and threatening the existence of some rural hospitals. Udow-Phillips expressed guarded optimism that hospitals may be able to resume elective procedures sometime in May. “I am expecting that we’ll start seeing in May some cases coming back into the hospital.” But, she says, “it really depends on how well we do in containing this virus. If the health system gets overwhelmed again, then they’re going to have to cut back.”

Udow-Phillips also discussed how providers are adapting to COVID-imposed health protocols and the expansion of telemedicine.

READ THE ENTIRE MLIVE ARTICLE HERE

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